Posts Tagged ‘Madeleine Paulson Pickens’

By Ray Paulick

One of the Thoroughbred industry’s biggest challenges may also present one of its greatest opportunities. The challenge, brought to the fore this year by a series of widely publicized events but always lingering just off center stage, is the issue of animal welfare. How the industry deals with this subject may be one of its last, best opportunities to derail our slow but steady march toward irrelevance in the eyes of the general public.

The death of Eight Belles in this year’s Kentucky Derby, from all indications, was a freak accident, one of those incidents that could not have been prevented by anyone. But her demise, along with revelations about the routine administration of anabolic steroids to many of the sport’s best performers, shined a spotlight on racing that revealed to the general public some of its darkest truths.

Foremost among those is the question of what becomes of a Thoroughbred when it is no longer useful as a racing or breeding animal. Some owners and breeders take great measures to insure either a productive second life for their horses or dispose of them through humane euthanasia. Too many horses slip through the cracks, however, and end up on meat wagons headed to slaughter houses in Canada or Mexico, or are simply abandoned.

The perception of our sport is shaped by media reports of the cruelty of slaughter or abandonment of Thoroughbreds, and it does not present an image attractive to many Americans, especially a younger generation that is more in tune with animal welfare issues.

That is the challenge.

The opportunity lies in the numerous programs and untold number of volunteers who work to find second homes for Thoroughbreds as riding, pleasure or performance horses, or as therapeutic animals used in programs for the mentally, spiritually or physically challenged, and in prisons where they have helped rehabilitate hardened criminals.

It’s time for the racing and breeding industry to fully embrace programs like the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, CANTER, Rerun, Tranquility Farm, Thoroughbred Charities of America and others, instead of pretending the issue of unwanted ex-racehorses does not exist.

Last week I heard a presentation on how our sport can energize its “brand” from marketing expert David Aaker at the Asian Racing Conference in Tokyo, Japan. Aaker, an advisor to Japanese advertising giant Dentsu and professor emeritus at the Haas School of Business at the University of California-Berkeley, talked about how some other businesses have energized their brands by hitching their wagons to something outside of their core business that it is interesting, relevant and compelling to their customer base.

Avon, one of the oldest cosmetic brands for women, was cited as one very good example. There was little the company could do to energize itself by making better lipstick, Aaker said, so it found an issue with great relevance and interest to its female customers: breast cancer. Avon put enormous resources into a breast cancer awareness campaign, created a foundation to support breast cancer research, and promoted an annual Avon Walk for Breast Cancer throughout the world. Breast cancer research and other social issues relevant to women were foremost among Avon CEO Andrea Jung’s program to rebuild and re-energize the Avon cosmetic brand. It has been a great success.

What social issue is of great importance to current and potential racing fans? I think that’s a no-brainer: it’s the humane treatment of the animals that give us so much pleasure and entertainment.

Look into the eyes of any fan when a horse dumps its rider in the post parade and takes off on a perilous solo run, or when a horse breaks down in a race or is carted off on an ambulance. It’s not just the champions our fans care about, either, it’s those low-level claimers they’ve followed in the first or last race on any day at any track.

Racing is fortunate to have people who are animal lovers and do what they can to protect them. Just today, Madeleine Paulson Pickens is reported to have come up with a plan to rescue from death the tens of thousands of wild mustangs who have roamed the American West and are so much a part of our culture. The late Paul Mellon bequeathed a most generous gift to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation that will benefit former racehorses for years to come. John Hettinger dedicated the last years of his life to ending slaughter and protecting our horses.

But it’s time for racing, as an institution, to understand that what’s good for our horses is good for our sport, to face this challenge and embrace it as an opportunity. The Jockey Club realized this with its recent announcement that it will give to horse retirement causes and offer breeders an easy way to donate funds to this cause whenever they register a foal. Suffolk Downs officials established a zero-tolerance policy against trainers sending horses to slaughter and a few other tracks have followed their lead.

But the clock is ticking. Voters in Massachusetts banned dog racing in that state Nov. 4 because of concerns over animal welfare. It’s not a stretch of the imagination to see similar measures taken against the racing of horses. Think about that for a minute.

We have some very bright people in this industry, people who can understand what marketing expert Aaker was talking about with Avon and apply the same principle to help both the horses and the business of Thoroughbred racing. We can energize the Thoroughbred racing "brand" by taking on one of our biggest challenges and viewing it as an opportunity to sell our sport to a new generation.

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

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 By Ray Paulick

The Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill criminalizing the transportation of horses for the purpose of slaughtering them for human consumption. The action, by voice vote, came less than 24 hours after Josephine Abercrombie, a prominent Kentucky Thoroughbred owner and breeder, sent  a letter (co-signed by 45 others) to Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) and ranking member Lamar Smith (R-Texas), urging passage of the bill over the “neutral” position taken by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association one week earlier. The bill, H.R. 6598, known as the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008, now moves to the House floor.

Abercrombie’s letter (shown below) seemed to trump an earlier letter by NTRA president Alex Waldrop, which said the NTRA had “concerns with the bill and potential unintended consequences.” The NTRA had previously supported anti-slaughter legislation filed but not passed in 2003; Waldrop’s letter did not address other anti-slaughter bills currently under consideration. Abercrombie and her co-signors urged support of all anti-slaughter legislation currently before the 110^th Congress. “We and so many others in the Thoroughbred breeding and racing community strongly support all legislative initiatives, including H.R. 503, S. 311, and H.R. 6598, which will bring horse slaughter to a swift end,” Abercrombie  wrote. “We want you to know that the NTRA’s position is not representative of the larger community.”

There currently are no slaughter plants operating in the U.S., the two in Texas having been shut down by a court ruling and a plant in Illinois shuttered after a state law was passed. There has been an increase in the number of horses being transported across the borders into Canada and Mexico, however, and H.R. 6598 provides enforcement for federal officials to end that. Horses confiscated would be under the jusisdiction of the attorney general, who, according to the bill, “shall provide for the humane placement or other humane disposition of any horse seized.”

Following is the text of the letter from Josephine Abercrombie and the list of co-signors.

Sept. 23, 2008

Dear Chairman Conyers and Ranking Member Smith:

Last week, during a Judiciary Committee mark up of H.R. 6598 – the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008, it was revealed that the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) does not support current legislation to ban horse slaughter. Needless to say, we were surprised at the revelation and disappointed by the reasons NTRA put forward, none of which are valid.

As Thoroughbred industry leaders who have long supported all Congressional actions to end this cruel industry, we were disappointed that the NTRA voiced unfounded concerns to those who support the slaughter of horses thus jeopardizing the passage of this legislation. We and so many others in the Thoroughbred breeding and racing community strongly support all legislative initiatives, including H.R. 503, S. 311, and H.R. 6598, which will bring horse slaughter to a swift end. We want you to know that the NTRA’s position is not representative of the larger community.

We commend you, Chairman Conyers, for providing this bill with a fair hearing, which has allowed it to move to this point. Given the narrow opportunity to act before Congress adjourns, we hope that H.R. 6598 can swiftly be moved from Committee to the floor of the full House of Representatives for final consideration. This bill is too important for politics to delay its enactment. Every five minutes an American horse is slaughtered. This bill can stop that.

H.R. 6598 is a sound bill that puts enforcement into the hands of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and its agents who are trained and staffed to deal with criminal issues. We feel confident that the DOJ has the necessary experience in dealing with large animal confiscations having led such high profile investigations involving animal fighting, Class B Dealers, and puppy mills. As with other statutes, under H.R. 6598, the DOJ has the authority to ask for assistance from other federal, state and non-governmental agencies during its enforcement of the law and this flexibility has shown to be highly effective.

Under a close examination of the concerns asserted by those opposing the bill, we can see no legitimate reason not to pass this legislation. As representatives of the Thoroughbred industry we look forward to the next Committee mark up of H.R. 6598 and urge you to pass H.R. 6598 as written, without amendments, as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Josephine Abercrombie

 

John H. Adger, racing and bloodstock manager, Stonerside Stable, Houston, TX; 
Peggy Augustus, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Keswick Stables, Keswick, VA; 
Betty and Gary Biszantz, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Cobra Farm, Lexington, KY and Solana Beach, CA; 
Nadia Sanan Briggs, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Padua Stables, Ocala, FL; 
Anne and Cot Campbell, Thoroughbred owners, Dogwood Stable, Aiken, SC; 
Pat Chapman, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Someday Farm, Doylestown, PA; 
Jenny Craig, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Rancho Paseana, Rancho Santa Fe, CA; 
Carol Farmer, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Shadowlawn Farm, Midway, KY; 
Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Ford, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Diamond A Farms, Versailles, KY; 
Maegan Ford, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Diamond A Farms, Versailles, KY; 
Staci and Arthur Hancock, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Stone Farm, Paris, KY; 
Mark Hennig, Thoroughbred owner and trainer, Garden City, NY; 
Sara Jones Hill, Thoroughbred owner, Coconut Grove, FL; 
Gretchen and Roy Jackson, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Lael Farm, West Grove, PA; 
Barbara Banke and Jess Jackson, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Stonestreet Farm, Lexington, KY; 
Jackson W. Knowlton, Thoroughbred owner, managing partner, Sackatoga Stable, Saratoga Springs, NY;  
Julie Krone, Racing Hall of Fame jockey, Los Angeles, CA; 
Janice and Robert McNair, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Stonerside Stables, Houston, TX; 
Ellen Moelis and Herbert I Moelis, Thoroughbred Charities of America, Candyland Farm, Middletown, DE; 
Maggi Moss, Thoroughbred owner, Moss Equestrians, Des Moines, Iowa; 
Joanne and Paul Oreffice, Thoroughbred owners, Dogwood Stables, Paradise Valley, AZ; 
Debby and John Oxley, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Fawn Leap Farm, Midway, KY; 
Madeleine Paulson Pickens, Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Rancho Santa Fe, CA; 
Dan Rosenberg, Rosenberg Thoroughbred Consulting,, Midway, KY; 
James D. Squires, Two Bucks Farm, Versailles, KY; 
Angie Athayde-Stevens, Thoroughbred consultant, Los Angeles, CA; 
Gary Stevens, Racing Hall of Fame jockey; Los Angeles, CA; 
Deborah W. Tatham and Thomas P. Tatham, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Oak Cliff Breeders, Houston, TX;
Melanie and Jeffrey Tucker, Stone Bridge Farm, Schuylerville, NY; 
Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson, Thoroughbred owners and breeders, Lexington, KY and Saratoga Springs, NY;
Kim and Nick Zito, Thoroughbred owner and trainer, Lexington, KY and Saratoga Springs, NY.

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

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